spir-i-tu'-ni-ty: spiritual opportunities which call us to grow, create, and self-express on the authentic path; where spirit and opportunity meet

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Bad Day?

Day 25 of 29 Days of Spiritual Messages.

Today's words of wisdom come from Theodor Seuss Geisel, the famous cartoonist and writer better known as Dr. Seuss. Here, Dr. Seuss gives us some advice on how to handle our troubles:

"I learned there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead, others come from behind. But I’ve bought a big bat. I’m all ready, you see. Now my troubles are going to have trouble with me."

As simplistic as this statement sounds, it packs a profound punch.

Troubles are bound to show up in our lives. When they do, we need to show up bigger. We do this by showing up with our "big bat" of courage, faith, and determination.

Troubles can come from any direction, "ahead" and "behind." While we may not know when they will hit, and while we can't control when they will happen, we can prepare ourselves and be in a state of readiness when they do happen.

The key to being prepared is having some tools that we can call upon to help us through a difficult time and use on an ongoing basis to make our lives a little easier.

When troubling times hit, we need to remember that we are not alone. One of the things we can do is to call a friend, someone who is willing to listen and who understands us. This can make a big difference. A friend can help us to see options where before we saw none and can give us direction.

Another thing we can do is to journal. Things can get jumbled inside our heads and by writing things out onto paper we can get a clearer picture once we identify patterns. Getting the clutter out of our heads helps us to see our options.

Getting physical by doing some kind of exercise also helps by relieving any pent-up stress. Getting our bodies moving allows for energy to keep moving so that it doesn't stagnate within our bodies and cause any kind of dis-ease.

Make quiet time. Whether it takes the form of meditation, contemplation, gardening, or folding the laundry, quiet time relieves the mind of daily complications and helps us to find our courage, faith, strength, and determination. This is our time to reload.

Give our bodies gratitude. Our bodies work hard in supporting us and keeping us healthy. Instead of making negative comments about the physical self, give thanks to every organ, muscle, and cell for working harmoniously together so that we can keep going.

We may never be able to fully avoid troubles from showing up in our lives, but we can have our "big bat" ready. Rather than duck and run in fear, we can stand and swing with confidence.

Get To Know Me

Penny McDaniel is a spiritual teacher, educator, theologian, and author/writer even though she finds titles limiting. She believes life is filled with what she calls "spiritunities", spiritual opportunities that call us to growth, creativity, and self-expression.